Locking display tray

ABSTRACT

Shelf or tray units adapted to be mounted on vertical walls for displaying merchandise are provided with a mounting support which has oppositely disposed mounting slots for receiving the stems of suction cups. The oppositely disposed slots prevent accidental or otherwise undesired dislocation of the tray from the supporting wall. The tray unit is also provided with spacing braces disposed between the tray and the wall on which the tray is mounted to prevent the load carried by the tray from exerting rotational forces on the suction cup stems which would cause the suction cups to separate from the supporting wall.

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for holding anddisplaying merchandise or the like. More particularly, it relates todisplay shelves or trays adapted for mounting on one face of asubstantially vertical wall to support and display products on the wallwithin view and easy access for the potential user.

Retail businesses commonly display merchandise, such as chilled orfrozen products, for sale in refrigerated vaults or the like in traysmounted on a transparent door or wall panel of the vault. Packaged,bottled and/or individual product units are also frequently supported indisplay containers supported on doors, walls, etc., elsewhere in retailoutlets. Trays or shelves supported on such doors, wall panels and thelike, either inside or outside a refrigerated vault, are often used tosupport and display the merchandise at convenient and/or noticeablelocations because a passing customer is more likely to select andpurchase merchandise displayed where it can be readily seen, recognizedand obtained. Accordingly, the retailer desires to maximize visibilityof products on display by suspending the display trays at convenient butvariable locations on such walls, doors or panels.

Various devices are used to support and display products on verticalsurfaces such as walls, doors and the like. Typical of such arrangementsare display shelves such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,433 whereinadvertising graphics are displayed on a face of the support panel of theshelf to be visible through the transparent wall to which the supportpanel is attached.

Typically, trays or shelves for supporting and displaying merchandiseproducts on a flat wall, door or other panel include a support panelwith notches, slots or holes therein which mate with the shank or stemof a suction cup attached to the wall, door or other panel. To supportheavier loads and to provide support stability, a plurality of suctioncups is usually employed. The support panel portion of the tray to whichthe suction cups are secured usually extends parallel with (or formspart of) the back wall of the tray so that the load of the tray and itscontents presents a force substantially parallel with the back wall ofthe tray and normal to the axes of the suction cup stems. However, sincethe cup portion of the suction cup must be interposed between thesupport panel and the supporting wall, downward load pressure exerted onthe floor of the tray by merchandise supported in the tray tends to bendthe stem downwardly. The stem thus acts as a lever exerting a bendingtorque on the suction cup which tends to pull the upper portion of thesuction cup body away from the supporting wall, releasing the attachmentbetween the suction cup and the supporting wall. Furthermore, when aplurality of suction cups are secured to the tray at differentelevations on the tray, the load exerted on the lower mountings isdifferent from the load exerted on the higher mountings. Thisasymmetrical load further tends to release the attachment of the uppercups.

When suction cups are used to mount display trays on supporting walls,the location of the tray on the wall is not necessarily pre-determinedor permanently fixed. The suction cups may be removed and re-positionedas desired. Thus the location of the display tray on the supporting wallmay be re-positioned as desired, relocating the tray and its productswithout marking or otherwise damaging the supporting wall. This isusually accomplished by positioning the suction cups on the supportingwall in the desired location and supporting the tray on the stems of thesuction cups by simply positioning the suction cup stems in slots atpre-determined locations on the support panel of the tray.Unfortunately, trays mounted in this manner may be accidentally (ormaliciously) dislocated from the mounting suction cup stems, sometimeswith disastrous results, by simply lifting the tray from the stems ofthe supporting suction cups.

For wall-mounted display trays to be effective, they should be mountedso as to remain securely attached to the support wall regardless of theload supported. They should also be inexpensive and sufficientlyversatile to permit display of various products without modification.Such trays should also be sturdy, reliable and permit easy removal andrelocation while resisting accidental (or otherwise undesired) removal,by simply lifting the tray from the stems of the supporting suctioncups.

In accordance with the present invention, display shelves or traysadapted to be mounted on a substantially vertical wall or panel (such asa glass window, wall, door or the like) are provided with a supportpanel adapted to support the tray substantially adjacent the supportingwall with the relationship of the floor of the tray and the supportingwall fixed so that the load carried by the floor is always exerted in adirection parallel with the face of the supporting wall and so that theload exerted on the supporting suction cups is uniformly distributed onall the supporting cups regardless of the load. The tray is supported bya support panel in which all the load-bearing suction cups are arrangedso that the load is uniformly distributed and some of the slots whichreceive the stems of the suction cups extend in opposite directions toprevent accidental or otherwise undesired removal of the tray from thesupporting wall. Other features and advantages of the invention willbecome more readily understood from the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the appended claims and attached drawing inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a back or rear top perspective view of a display trayincorporating the locking support arrangement of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a back side elevational view of the display tray shown in FIG.1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the display tray of FIG. 1 taken throughline 3-3 illustrating the display tray mounted on a transparent wall.

The above-described drawing is incorporated into and forms part of thespecification to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention. Throughout the drawing, like reference numerals designatecorresponding elements. The figures are not to scale but are intended todisclose the inventive concepts by illustration. The drawing is not tobe construed as limiting the invention to the illustrated and describedexamples.

It will be recognized that the principles of the invention may beutilized and embodied in many and various forms. In order to demonstratethese principles, the invention is described herein by reference tospecific preferred embodiments. The invention, however, is not limitedto the forms illustrated and described. Furthermore, the invention isnot limited to use in connection with glass panels or doors onrefrigerated vaults but my find utility in other similar applicationsinvolving support and display of products and advertising media onsubstantially vertical flat panels.

For purposes of this disclosure, the terms “shelf” and “tray” are usedinterchangeably to mean any structure having a floor on which a product,a package containing a product or advertising media may be placed orsuspended from for display.

For perspective and consistency in describing the display trayillustrated, the portion of the tray unit which is closest the verticalsupporting wall is described as the back side or rear and the portionmost remote from the supporting wall is described as the front.Similarly, spatial orientation and relative terms such as “upwardly,”“downwardly,” “rearwardly,” “horizontally,” “above,” “below,” “upper,”“lower” and the like are used in reference to the position of the traywhen the tray is mounted on a supporting wall for use.

The embodiment illustrated comprises a display shelf or tray 10 having aback wall 11, a front wall 12, end walls 13 and a floor 14. The displaytray 10 is supported by a mounting panel or support 15 which comprises aflange 16 with its top edge 17 attached to and depending from the upperedge of back wall 11. The flange 16 has a first face 19 which lies in aplane substantially parallel with the back wall 11 (normal to the planeof the floor 14) and has a plurality of elongated mounting slots 20, 21.The mounting slots 20, 21 extend substantially vertically and areoriented substantially parallel with each other. Each slot 20, 21 has anentry end and an oppositely disposed closed end. Bottom opening mountingslots 20 are all arranged so that their open ends are coincident withthe lower edge 18 of flange 16. Top opening mounting slot 21 is arrangedso that its entry end is at the top edge 17 of flange 16 and thereforeabove its closed end as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 tray 10 is mounted on and secured to a supportwall 30 such as a glass door or other substantially flat surface usingsuction cups 22. Suction cups 22 may be conventional suction cups or thelike having a cup body 27 which supports a horizontally extending stem24 terminating in an expanded base 23. To mount the tray 10 on supportwall 30, the stems 24 of suction cups 22 are inserted into slots 20, 21with their expanded bases 23 between back wall 11 and the flange 16.Each stem 24 is inserted into the bottom opening slots 20 at the entryend of the slot and moved upwardly until the closed end of each slot 20rests on a stem 24. It should be noted that at least one slot 21 isoriented so that its entry end is above its closed end. Thus a suctioncup 22 is mounted in top opening slot 21 by inserting its stem 24 in theentry end thereof and moving it downwardly toward the closed end of topopening slot 21.

With the suction cups 22 mounted in slots 20, 21, the tray 10 is mountedon support wall 30 by aligning the tray 10 in the desired position onsupport wall 30 and pressing flange 16 toward support wall 30. Whenpressure is applied to flange 16, the cup body 27 of each suction cup 22is compressed and secured to the support wall 30. The load carried bythe tray 10 is thus supported on the stems 24 of the suction cups 22mounted in the bottom opening mounting slots 20. However, the tray 10cannot be removed from the suction cups 22 by moving the tray upwardlybecause the stem 24 of the suction cup 22 mounted in the top openingslot 21 abuts the closed end of top opening slot 21 and prevents upwardmovement of the tray 10 relative to the suction cups. Accordingly, thetray cannot be accidentally (or intentionally) removed from the suctioncups so long as the suction cups remain secured to support wall 30. Thetray 10 can only be removed from the support wall 30 by firstdisengaging the suction cups 22 from the support wall 30.

In the embodiment illustrated, slots 20, 21 are oriented to extendvertically. In this orientation the weight of the tray 10 and itscontents is supported by the upper closed ends of bottom opening slots20. The suction cup positioned in top opening slot 21 does not supportthe tray 10. Instead, it prevents removal of the tray 10 from itssupporting suction cups by upward movement of the tray to simultaneouslywithdraw suction cup stems 24 from the bottom opening slots 24. It willbe recognized, however, that the slots 21, 21 need not necessarily beoriented vertically or parallel. Any other orientation of the slots 20,21 which provide a load bearing slot edge for supporting the tray 10 andat least one (1) slot arranged to prevent simultaneously removal of theflange 16 from the suction cups by moving the tray 10 in a singledirection will, of course, provide the advantages of the invention andshould be considered within the scope of the invention disclosed andclaimed.

Similarly, the slots 20, 21 need not terminate in an open end whichcoincides with an edge of the flange 16. It is only necessary that theslots 20, 21 permit insertion of stems 24 into mounting slots inpositions in which the expanded base 23 prevents withdrawal of stem bymovement of the flange 16 axially with respect to the stems 24 and alsoprevent removal of the tray 10 from all suction cup stems simultaneouslyby movement of the tray 10 in a single direction. For example, a slotwhich has a width approximating the width of the stems 24 which, at somepoint along its length, has an enlarged opening which permits theinsertion of the expanded base 23 therethrough will satisfy therequirements of an open ended slot as described herein. Accordingly, akeyhole-type slot or the like may be considered an elongated slot with aclosed end and an open end within the scope of the invention disclosedand claimed.

In the embodiment illustrated, the closed ends of the bottom openingslots 20 (the load bearing slot edges) are all aligned along a singlehorizontal plane which is above the floor 14 of the tray 10.Accordingly, the load exerted on the stems 24 of the suction cups willbe exerted uniformly on all the stems 24 extending horizontally in asingle plane.

With flange 16 secured to, spaced from and depending from the upperportion of back wall 11, and with the suction cup body 27 of eachsuction cup 22 positioned between flange 16 and the support wall 30, theback wall 11 is spaced from the support wall 30 a distance equal to thespace between the back wall 11 and the flange 16 plus the thickness offlange 16 plus the thickness of the cup body 27 in the compressedcondition. Accordingly, when the tray 10 carries heavy product, the loadexerted on floor 14 tends to push floor 14 downwardly and, since theback wall 11 is spaced from the support wall 30 and the stems 24 allextend in a single plane, the bottom of the tray 10 will be twistedtoward the support wall. Movement of the tray 10 downwardly and inwardlytoward the support wall 30 exerts an asymmetrical twisting load on thestems 24 of the suction cups 22. Such asymmetrical loads tend to twistthe suction cup bodies 27 and disengage the suction cups from thesupport wall 30.

To prevent application of downwardly twisting asymmetrical loads on thesuction cups 22, tray 10 is provided with spacing braces 25. Spacingbraces 25 extend from the lower portion of back wall 11 to the supportwall 30 below the horizontal plane of supporting suction cup stems 24.The outer edge 26 of each spacing brace 25 is preferably spaced fromback wall 11 a distance which equals the space between back wall 11 andflange 16 plus the thickness of flange 16 plus the thickness of thesuction cup body 27 in the compressed condition. When the tray 10 isproperly mounted on support wall 30, the outer edge 26 of each spacingbrace 25 is aligned with and positioned adjacent support wall 30 belowthe suction cups 22. The spacing braces 25 thus prevent rotation ortwisting movement of the tray 10 when the tray 10 is loaded and maintainthe position of floor 14 fixed with respect to support wall 30 at alltimes.

In the embodiment illustrated two (2) spacing braces 25 are shown. Eachspacing brace 25 is in the form of a thin body which extends from thetop of back wall 11 to the bottom edge of back wall 11. It will beappreciated, however, that spacing braces 25 may take various otherforms. For example, spacing braces 25 may be in the form of an extensionof or attachment extending from floor 14 toward support wall 30; may bean extension of or attachment extending from side walls 13 towardsupport wall 30; or may be protrusions of any other shape or sizeextending from back wall 11 toward support wall 30.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 mounting support 15 comprises a flange 16attached to and depending from the top edge of back wall 30. When flange16 is formed of relatively thin or lightweight plastic or the like, theflange 16 may not be sufficiently rigid to uniformly and fully compressa plurality of suction cups 22 mounted therein. In order to reinforcethe flange 16 and assure uniform compression of the suction cups, and torigidly connect flange 16 to the body of tray 10, a plurality ofrigidity braces 28 are positioned in the space between back wall 11 andflange 16. The rigidity braces 28 may, of course, take any of variousforms and need only provide a fixed spatial relationship between flange16 and back wall 11 so that horizontal pressure applied to back wall 11will be uniformly transmitted to flange 16 to fully and completelycompress suction sup bodies 27.

The tray structure of the invention may readily be fabricated from anyof various suitable materials. In the preferred embodiment thestructures are formed of molded plastics, acrylics or the like to formunitary transparent, translucent or tinted bodies. Obviously, variousother materials and manufacturing technologies may be used as desired.Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the tray need not be in theform of a rectangular basket as illustrated. Similarly, the tray neednot necessarily include walls 11, 12 and 13 in the form or relationshipsshown. It is only necessary that the tray of the invention include afloor which is supportable on a substantially vertical wall by a flangewhich, when attached to the supporting wall with suction cups, maintainsthe position of the floor fixed with respect to the supporting wall andcannot be removed from the supporting suction cups while all the suctioncups are affixed to the supporting wall.

From the foregoing it will be recognized that the principles of theinvention may be employed in various arrangements to obtain the benefitof the many advantages and features disclosed. It is to be understood,therefore, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages ofthe invention have been set forth together with details of the structureand function of the invention, this disclosure is to be consideredillustrative only. Various changes and modifications may be made indetail, especially in matters of size, shape and arrangements andcombination of parts, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A tray for supporting and displaying products adjacent one face of asubstantially vertical wall comprising: (a) a floor having a top facelying in a substantially horizontal plane; (b) a back wall lying in asubstantially vertical plane having a top edge extending upwardly fromthe top face of said floor; (c) a front wall extending upwardly from thetop face of said floor with a substantial portion thereof spacedhorizontally from and substantially parallel with said back wall; (d) amounting support having a first face lying in a plane substantiallyparallel with and horizontally spaced from said back wall; and (e) aplurality of elongated mounting slots in said mounting support, eachslot having an entry end and a closed end, with at least one slotextending from its entry end to its closed end in a first direction andat least one slot extending from its entry end to its closed end in asecond direction.
 2. A tray as defined in claim 1 wherein a plurality ofsaid elongated mounting slots are arranged to extend substantiallyvertically with their entry ends below their closed ends.
 3. A tray asdefined in claim 1 wherein said mounting support is attached to anddepends from the top of said back wall in a plane substantially parallelwith and spaced from said back wall.
 4. A tray as defined in claim 3including a brace secured in the space between said mounting support andsaid back wall which maintains a fixed spatial relationship between saidmounting support and said back wall.
 5. A tray as defined in claim 3wherein: (i) said mounting support defines a lower edge and a top edge;(ii) the entry end of at least one of said slots extends to said loweredge; and (iii) the entry end of at least one of said slots extends tosaid top edge.
 6. A tray as defined in claim 1 further comprising: (f) aspacing brace extending from the plane of said back wall toward and pastthe plane of said mounting support.
 7. A tray as defined in claim 6wherein said spacing brace extends from said floor.
 8. A tray as definedin claim 6 wherein said spacing brace extends from said back wall.
 9. Atray as defined in claim 6 further comprising side walls intermediatesaid front wall and said back wall wherein said spacing brace extendsfrom at least one of said side walls.
 10. A tray for supporting anddisplaying products adjacent one face of a substantially vertical wallcomprising: (a) a floor having a top face lying in a substantiallyhorizontal plane; (b) a back wall extending upwardly from the top faceof said floor in a second plane; (c) a front wall extending upwardlyfrom the top face of said floor with a substantial portion thereofspaced horizontally from and substantially parallel with said back wall;(d) a mounting support supporting said floor and having a first facelying in a plane substantially parallel with and horizontally spacedfrom said back wall; and (e) a spacing brace extending from the plane ofsaid back wall toward and past the plane of said first face of saidmounting support.
 11. A tray as defined in claim 10 wherein said spacingbrace extends from said floor.
 12. A tray as defined in claim 10 whereinsaid spacing brace extends from said back wall.
 13. A tray forsupporting and displaying products adjacent one face of a substantiallyvertical panel comprising: (a) a floor having a top face lying in asubstantially horizontal plane; (b) a wall lying in a substantiallyvertical plane having a top edge extending upwardly from the top face ofsaid floor; (c) a mounting support having a first face lying in a planesubstantially parallel with and horizontally spaced from said wall; and(d) a plurality of elongated mounting slots in said mounting support,each slot having an entry end and a closed end, with at least one slotextending from its entry end to its closed end in a first direction andat least one slot extending from its entry end to its closed end in asecond direction.
 14. A tray as defined in claim 13 wherein a pluralityof said elongated mounting slots are arranged to extend substantiallyvertically with their entry ends below their closed ends.
 15. A tray asdefined in claim 13 further comprising: (e) a spacing brace attached toand extending from said floor in the direction of and extending past theplane of said mounting support to maintain the position of said floorspatially fixed with respect to said mounting support.
 16. A tray forsupporting and displaying products adjacent one face of a substantiallyvertical panel comprising: (a) a floor having a top face lying in asubstantially horizontal plane; (b) a mounting support connected to andsupporting said floor having a first face lying in a plane substantiallynormal to said floor; (c) a plurality of elongated mounting slots insaid mounting support, each mounting slot having an entry end and aclosed end with the closed ends of said mounting slots aligned in aplane above the top face of said floor; and (d) a spacing brace attachedto and extending from said floor in the direction of and extending pastthe plane of said mounting support to maintain the position of saidfloor spatially fixed with respect to said mounting support.
 17. Incombination: (a) a support wall with a substantially flat face lying ina substantially vertical plane; (b) a tray with a floor lying in asubstantially horizontal plane; (c) a mounting support, attached to andsupporting said floor, with a first face aligned substantially parallelwith and spaced from said face of said support wall; (d) a plurality ofelongated mounting slots in said mounting support, each slot having anentry end and a closed end, with at least one slot extending from itsentry end to its closed end in a first direction and at least one slotextending from its entry end to its closed end in a second direction;(e) a plurality of suction cups, each having a suction cup body and astem extending from said suction cup body which terminates in anexpanded base having a diameter greater than the diameter of the stem,with the stem of one suction cup mounted in the closed end of each ofsaid slots; and (f) a spacing brace attached to said tray and extendingbetween said tray and said support wall to maintain the position of saidfloor spatially fixed with respect to said support wall.